Stonehenge

We will never truly know the answers but Cornwell gives us possibilities. Read his afterword and see how well researched his novel is.

Cromwell is arguably (not by me, I have no doubt) the greatest writer of historical fiction. Here he delves into time before there was any recorded history and tries to answer questions about the mysterious Stonehenge.

Cornwell is a master story teller. His tale may be close to the truth. Religion seems to be at the root cause of so many mysteries and atrocities that his tale is credible. Good book to read, very entertaining.

A BIG CORNWELL FAN...IVE READ ALMOST ALL HIS BOOKS, INCLUDING LAST BURNING LAND....I SEARCHED HIS NOVELS..CAME UP WITH THIS UNREAD BOOK, WISH I MISSED IT...NOT MY CUP OF TEA..I HOPE HE GOT THIS MESS OUT OF HIS SYSTEM

We actually know very little about the Neolithic period circa 2000 BC. We don't know how the people waged warfare, how they raised their crops, how they organised themselves, which gods they worshipped. The only facts we have indicate that they built temples of wood and stone, that they had weapons and tools of flint and bronze, and that they practiced a form of agriculture and animal husbandry. Yet from these few scraps of knowledge, Bernard Cornwell construct a credible scenario of intertribal warfare, primitive religion and unprincipled savagery, where sorcerers, sorceresses and priests manipulate a superstitious and credulous people into senseless acts of slaughter and human sacrifice. Some reviewers have criticised the storyline, which is perhaps no more than a representation of the traditional struggle of good against evil. I thought the plot and subplots all served their purpose excellently. And I would congratulate Bernard Cornwell on taking the modern reader back 4,000 years on to the plains of Salisbury where one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world still casts its awesome spell. Stonehenge.

There were perhaps one or two moments when I felt the text wasn't quite right, but I can't now recall what they were so they can't have been that bad. Overall, a magnificent literary tour de force. An imaginative masterpiece. Strongly recommended.

Badly researched, weak plot, and awash in excess verbiage. His usual sweating, grunting stereotypes for characters have moved clumsily to a more remote era than he has tried prior to this work. The lack of footing shows. This tale is mostly conjecture; a pity when there was already so much research and theory about Stonehenge. Readers who want some accuracy in a fictional portrayal of the Isles as the second millennium BCE when the metal-seeking marauders arrive should try M Patton's Undreamed Shores or Dunn's Bending The Boyne where each relies on recent archaeology.

Cornwell catches us up in a fascinating page turning historical novel with science fantasy elements, in this elecrtic epic set in the Britain of 4000 years ago.
Cornwell creates an eventful, vivid, gory, gripping and spellbinding tale of love and loss, sorcery, hatred, jealousy, greed, ambition and pagan theology.

Traces the story of three brothers, the evil and savage killer, Lengar, the cunning cripple turned sorcerer, Camaban, who ruthlessly sheds blood to build a new stone temple that will usher in new age free of suffering and death-the ruthless idealism of causes massive death and suffering for a utopian ideal, that was a hallmark of the twentieth century CE, and Saban, an intelligent but somewhat naive third brother who is caught in the machinations of his malignant older brothers.

Derewynn, who is the bride of Saban who is then raped and enslaved by Lengar and his friends, before becoming a formidable sorceress and chieftainess, and Aurenna the priestess and second bride of Saban, to be the disciple and high priestess of Camaban.
One thing that was absent that would have been helpful would have been a map showing where the places named are today in modern Britain.
Ultimately about the author's story of how Stonehenge came to be in his imagination. Another page-turning Cornwell historical thriller, which you will want to add to your collection.

Lets be fair. Little is known about late stone age/early bronze age England. We just simply do not have records other than artifacts we find. So the fact that Cornwell can invent a story about this time of history and keep it flowing and accurate is an accomplishment in-and-of itself.

The story starts out fast and builds up nicely with characters, setting and story. It takes place in and around a small section of England but with small hints at what other areas of this island would have been like. We learn who are main three characters will be and how extremely different they are.The quick pace continues for about a third of the book then abruptly stops and gets pretty dry. There is a lot of story (which is needed) with very little character interaction. Cornwell drolls on almost to the point of boredom about the temple being built but then just as suddenly as the pace slowed it picks back up.

The last third of the book really brings the story together with a bang of an ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

So I reccomend that you get this book and read it as it is full of what life would have been like four thousand years ago in a land neck deep in mythology and ritual.

It took great imagination to write a historical novel about people who left no written history. Not only did Bernard Cornwell succeed, but he spins a compelling, plausible story. I don't remember the last time I rooted so vigorously for the heroes and felt such anger for the villains. Only the actual stones and various temples are a reality. Whether the local tribes worshipped the sun and moon or made those horrible human sacrifices is pure conjecture. It is written so well that I bought the whole package!

The story starts when a stranger from the Sarmennyn tribe (the outfolk) arrives at the Old Temple of the Ratharryn tribe with stolen gold pieces. He is slain by Lengar, son of Chief Hengall of Ratharryn. When Lengar gets back to his tribe, he is confronted by his father, who wants all the gold. Lengar gives up the gold and angerly leaves for Sarmennyn with many of his spearman. Meanwhile Hengall's second son, Saban, is to wed Derrewyn of the Cathallo tribe to unite the tribes in peace. The club footed third son of Hengall, Camaban, after escaping his own death by sacrifice leaves for Cathallo to study with Sannas the Sorceress of Cathallo. On the day of the wedding between Saban and Derrewyn, Lengar returns with many spearman and kills his father Hengall the Chief. Lengar now becomes chief, sells Saban into slavery, and takes a rebellious Derrewyn as his wife.

Wow! There is a lot going on in this book. Still to come are the conflicts between the three brothers, many sacrifices, the years of hauling boulders from Sarmennyn and Cathallo, and the building of the temple for Slaol, the Sun God, and Lahanna, the Moon Goddess. There are many side characters to root for and many villains to hate. The last hundred pages are filled with excitement, twists and turns. When I finished this book, I was hoping it was the first of a trilogy. I highly recommend this novel. It was written in 2000, but is readily available in paperback.

Bernard Cornwell is a prolific author of historical fiction. He has written over fifty novels.

In this novel, Cornwell tells a fictional account of the building of Stonehenge. While this work is completely fiction, Cornwell does a great job of weaving into his tale the few archeological facts we do know about Stonehenge.

Nobody really knows why Stonehenge was built. It may have been for religious purposes, but we have no direct information of this. We do know that Stonehenge was built, and rebuilt, several times. Many stones were brought from hundreds of miles away, then discarded. The large stones that finally comprised Stonehenge weigh as much as forty tons. They were dragged over twenty miles to create the monument we know today.

Cornwell's story tells the fate of three brothers. It is a tale of brotherly rivalry, madness, and the will of the gods.

The oldest brother a warrior filled with lust, hatred and revenge. He murders his father and betrays his youngest brother. And slaughters at will.

The middle son suffers from physical deformities which drive him into madness. He becomes a priest in service to fierce god Slaol. It is his madness which drives the building of great temples, and eventually the building of Stonehenge.

The youngest son, Saban (the main character) is betrayed by his older brothers, sold into slavery, and driven far from home. Along the way the women he loves (two wives and a daughter) are taken from him by his brothers, and the gods. In the end he is driven to build the incredible monument that is Stonehenge.

I enjoyed this novel. It is a nice easy read. The plot moves along and keeps you reading.

Prolific author of successful historical/military novels. This is one of his best, with more sophisticated plot and characters than some. Early Bronze Age Britain is depicted with some realism, as contentious tribal societies. He uses current archaeological understanding well, and the plot centers around a plausible reconstruction of some of the meanings now seen in Stonehenge: the visionary Camaban coerces and convinces individuals and tribes that the world can be set right by building a new temple celebrating Slaol the Sun as prime god, but reconciling him with Lahanna the Moon, in smaller circles within it, so that the difference between solar and lunar years will end and all will be in balance –no more death, or winter, or suffering.
The bluestone circle is coerced from a tribe in Wales and its sorcerer converted to the cause, because the folk of Ratharryn (Durrington Walls) near Stonehenge (the old temple to be renewed) have acquired gold lozenges which washed up on the Welsh beach but were stolen - to get them back they agree to provide a temple. The people of Cathallo (Avebury), who worship Lahanna, are conquered to end a long rivalry and provide labor and the stones. Saban, Camaban’s brother, is the builder, forced to obey Camaban’s increasingly elaborate and obsessive schemes and erect the sarsen trilithons. Cornwell conveys the insanity of religious belief well – to remake the world and end suffering, Camaban creates suffering, with raids and war for slaves and resources to build the temple, bloody sacrifices, and destruction of those near to him. Of course the world is not remade, but the great temple remains… The reconstruction of a society based on war and slavery is not entirely convincing, the tribal enmities are more plausible, and Cornwell sticks more or less correctly to technology of the time. The building processes are described in detail according to current ideas, and to make the point that it was an enormous and unprecedented project that took some years of effort as well as political maneuvering and power struggles, and a strong central authority. The gold and other artifacts from Bush Barrow are among specific archaeological finds that play a part in the story.
Cornwell adds a short essay explaining the sources of his ideas, and justifying a rapid construction and remodeling of Stonehenge at the building of the bluestone circle and its subsequent removal and replacement by the sarsens.

No matter how you slice it, the book is about how to build a stone temple in ancient times. There is a story behind this, an interesting and complex tale of people from all over present-day England, surrounding three brothers, sons of a chieftan, and their aspirations, plottings, dreams and failures. There is travel throughout the ancient island with Cornwell's requisite description of place and people, but it still comes back to building the stone temple; so the title suggests, so the book goes...

This is not, in my humble opinion (and I am a big fan of Cornwell), Bernard's best work. It is interesting enough. There is treachery, murder, rivalry, betrayal, lust, insanity, god-worship, slavery, battle, bravery, courage and cowardice, but all offered in less heaping helpings than usually offered from Cornwell.

Surely, it was no small task for our neolithic ancestors to collect the stones, shape them, move them and stand them so precisely, but the description of such consumes probably 75-80% of the book. Cornwell does his best to make this description interesting, but I believe that where this book really falls short is in its length. The tale could have been told in fewer pages with fewer people and less outside storylines.

The back-story is sufficient, but nothing outstanding. To be honest, I'm a bit surprised by the praise offered by the "experts"; people that get paid to review. I think the experts failed us on this one. This is an average read with Cornwell's exceptional ability to lay out the scene bringing the rating up slightly.

This is certainly an interesting read for anyone that is interested in ancient history, but I don't think that the average historical fiction reader will find much to be excited about here. The battles are weak in comparison to Cornwell's usual epic warfare storytelling. There is no real mystery, though the book does not promise this; I have just come to expect this from Cornwell so I offer it as an aside.

I am very interested in anything prehistoric/ancient and I did enjoy reading about the tools, processes, people and lifestyles of our forefathers, but I realize that some may not take so much enjoyment from the tale.

***I give 4 stars, my personal rating, understanding full well that some may disagree and so also offer the reasons why I believe some may not be quite so interested. Overall, I would rate this a 3+, rounding up to 4 because Cornwell can make even the grinding and standing of stones sound interesting. But some may want to skip this one and move on to a more involving tale.***

Bernard Cornwell's "Stonehenge" is an audacious yet sincere effort to bring a human element to one of the western world's most intriguing archeological finds. The purpose and meaning behind England's odd collection of mighty stones is (in all likelihood) forever lost to us, but that doesn't stop Cornwell from telling a great fictionalized tale about how Stonehenge was built.
Cornwell uses a triumvirate of brothers, the warlike Lengar, the sorcerer Camaban, and the builder Saban, as the vehicle to tell his story. Lengar chafes under the rule of his father, a "good chief" when Lengar believes a great chief is called for. A little murder here, a little patricide there, and Lengar is running the tribe as his own private war party. Camaban, a deformed outcast, emerges as even more tyrannical than Lengar, using his sorcerer's powers to chilling effect as he rises from sacrificial victim to command the tribe in his own way. Saban, a rather passive figure, is gifted with an understanding of stone and is charged by his brothers to be the master temple builder.
But this is not a simple tale of building a huge temple. Cornwell firmly grounds his story in the harsh world of England during the Bronze Age. Warfare, human sacrifice, and harsh conditions afflict and torment the tribesmen, and the building of Stonehenge during such chaotic times becomes even more of an amazing feat. Cornwell's early line, "And the gods were screaming," is a perfect description of how tumultuous life in England was at the time.
But Cornwell also gives us fully realized characters who mature and evolve. Saban has several loves in his life, but he is not fated to keep them for long, as cruel fate seems to dog his step. Saban is also at the mercy of the powerful hold the gods and the spirits have over the tribesmen . . . and the gods are fickle.
In addition to fleshed-out, human characters, Cornwell tells the story of the building of Stonehenge in great detail. Far from springing forth fully realized, Stonehenge is the product of several revisions, false starts, and unsuccessful trials. Using helpful drawings, Cornwell never loses his focus, and the reader is generally able to envision the slow growth of Stonehenge from idea to finished product.
Always living life on a precarious edge between achievement and ruin, Cornwell's characters evoke powerful emotions - at various times evoking anger, pity, sorrow, joy, and admiration. The only emotion in short supply is humor . . . Cornwell's England is a harsh, dangerous place that does not allow much room for levity.
That does not make the story dull, by any means . . . rather, the gritty realism of the story only solidifies the importance of the idea of Stonehenge, which is built to bring an end to winter and to suffering. When faced with the brutal world the tribesmen inhabit, the mania to build Stonehenge seems logical . . . almost.
A terrific read!

The only thing harder to research than a historical novel is a pre-historical one. Cornwell has made a serious effort to understand the how the Neolithic looked in southern Britain, then fit plot and characters into that landscape. It's an exciting story, full of duplicity, heroics, deeply held feelings and almost convincing people.
Centred, as the title suggests, on the great stone monument on Salisbury Plain, he builds a narrative suggesting the motivation and labour involved in building this ancient site. He uses two trinities to develop his story. One trinity is comprised of brothers who represent material, mysticism and morality. The other is three who, by stretching your imagination, might be Mother, Maiden and Crone of the slassical witchcraft Sisterhood, although those identities shift drastically as the story progresses. The clash of greedy warlords with messianic figures is like something out of Sir Walter Scott. Cornwell's technique makes thrilling reading while upholding modern standards of justice and rewards for the good. The good, of course, don't come through unblemished or painlessly, but they survive. All the excitement and maneuvering raise this book a step above the modern fantasy novel, but the step is a small one.
If you're looking for adventure with an unusual twist, this is the book for you. You will be taken back in time, through some spatial adjustment, but most importantly, view a society very different from the one you know. Prepare yourself for a harsh existence while remembering that "progress" is a word with many definitions. Perhaps there's some benefit in reading the "Historical note" at the back first, then delving into Cornwell's sources, before returning to this fictional account. All of his resources are at least as readable as this book, and infinitely more informative, if not as imaginative. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

I actually liked this book, despite what I felt were rather poor reviews by some other readers. I have read the Warlord Series by Cornwell and although I hated the first book, the other two were thrilling. I ventured into this leary of Cornwell's tendency to overdo the scenery descriptions and his habit of repeating information as if the reader is too dense to have absorbed it the first 10 times. Well, Cromwell held true to these bad habits, but the story moved along reasonably well and kept me interested. I liked the character of Saban right from the start and was eager to find out what happened to this man who Cromwell fictionally credits for the building of Stonehenge although he was truly a simple victim of circumstance. The other characters are also interesting and it is a nice dramatic look at what life may have been like 3000BC. I particularly liked the author's historical notes at the end of the book that stressed the fictionalized account of the building and mentions the story locations by their modern day names. I have been to this area and I was then able to truly visualize the situations. I would only have suggeseted a map at the front of the book as opposed to the enlightenment of this detail at the end of the story. My only other criticism of the story is that a lot of stone erecting takes place before we finally get around to the overly detailed erection of Stonehenge. However, it was interesting in theory and I would imagine that much of this same trial and error really happened before they were able to create Stonehenge. All in all, an interesting book if you want a good historical FICTION. Anyone reading this for history is out of luck - there just isn't anything on which to base an historical work about this monument available for an author to use as a resource

Being a fan of historic fiction, "Stonehenge" got my attention since I first noticed it in a bookstore. After reading the reviews at the store.com, I got a little disappointed, but gave it a try anway. The book is better than I expected.

There's little man know about the construction of Stonehenge, and what was its purpose. Cornwell, veteran of middle-age fiction, constructs a nice, if somewhat simple story about life in Britain 25 centuries before Christ. Saban, Camaban and Lengar, three brothers, descendants of the chief of one of the most powerful settlements in the british island, struggle for power, each seeking it in its own way: Lengar wants to be a mercyless chieftain, Saban wants to be recognized as a great warrior, and Camaban, the twisted, abandoned child, wants to be the greatest sorcerer on Earth.

Cornwell tells the story of these three main characters; around them, the author provides the reader with battling cities, vengeful gods and the construction of a stone temple that could change the face of the planet. The story in itself is interesting, but what I found best about "Stonehenge" is the good exercise in imagination done by Cornwell, thinking about what was life like in the dawn of history, and, furthermore, what may be the purpose behind the construction of Stonehenge.

"Stonehenge" won't linger in the readers' minds after it's finished, but it certainly will be fun during reading.

Grade 7.8/10

I've long been fascinated by Stonehenge. Many people think the Druids built it for their rituals and celestial observations, but it's now widely accepted that Stonehenge far pre-dates Druids, and was probably built by Neolithic people. It's a remarkable feat of engineering on any scale, but that's not what I find most intriguing. I've always wondered *why* it was built, and more particularly, why so many huge bluestone rocks were transported more than 135 miles (as the crow flies) from the Preseli Mountains in Wales, the only place where that kind of rock occurs in the British Isles, to Salisbury Plain. If they just wanted to build a "machine" to take astrological sightings, you'd have thought it would have been far easier to use reasonably local rocks, such as those used for the giant Sarcen stones, for the entire structure. The Neolithic builders, however, chose to undertake the extraordinary task of transporting this unique bluestone, either by an incredibly difficult sea and river voyage, or (less likely) by a seemingly impossible land route. Why? There had to be some overwhelmingly good reason, but none I have heard so far have seemed powerful enough. How did they get to know about that bluestone, anyway? Package holiday to Wales, perhaps?
In "Stonehenge", Bernard Cornwell put forward a powerful enough reason so that I could believe human beings would undertake this endeavour. Although the actual religious rituals the people of this age obeyed are not recorded, there is evidence that human sacrifice was practiced. That points to a pretty powerful and demanding religious system and history continues to show that those running religious systems are always the most power hungry. The best way they could think of to gain and retain their power was to make the gods stop the desperately cold winters, thus halting the resultant famines, etc. And that called for increasingly more powerful rituals.
A man who stole his tribe's golden religious artefacts travelled far in an attempt to consult an ancient mystic, but instead was killed by one of the three sons of the leader of a tribe resident in the area now known as Salisbury Plain. The artefacts were added to the hoard of that leader, and some were used to purchase stone from a nearby tribe for modest temple improvements. The original holders of the artefacts, who just happened to come from a region near the Preseli Mountains, tracked them down but the new holders requested something in return for them - one of their temples. And in their desperation for the return of their treasure, the Welsh tribe agreed.
Of course, simply transporting the stones and re-erecting the temple would be far too easy. Around this framework, Cornwell weaves a story of murder, jealousy, revenge, ferocious and bloody battles, bizarre and superstitious religious rituals, insanity, brutality, mysticism, and everything else you could want from a thriller. His talent for characterisation makes you almost cheer out loud for the goodies and hiss at the baddies, even while you realise you are being fed standard thriller fare. The story centres on the three brothers, and you can guess there is a too-good-to-be-true hero, an out-and-out baddie and one that is turned by circumstances into an insane despot.
I'm not generally a fan of war books, so of Cornwell's huge list of books, the only ones I've read (and thoroughly enjoyed, let me say) were Cornwell's three-book re-telling of the Arthurian legend, "The Warlord Chronicles" (I even reviewed the third, "Excalibur") and found the same well-researched, dramatic and realistic style I enjoyed in those books continued in "Stonehenge". Of course, the standard thriller population of incredibly handsome/beautiful, extraordinarily accomplished at an unbelievably young age, heroes and heroines live in this tale, only these aren't rich, and mostly they're not terribly clean, either. Cornwell skilfully puts them into an environment where you can almost see, smell, taste, hear and feel all their experiences. You can understand their motivations, admire their endeavour and appreciate their efforts. Perhaps the characters are not as refined as those in "The Warlord Chronicles", but I'm quite happy to accept the Neoliths lived in an extremely brutal time, and Arthur .... well, it's fantasy, isn't it. However, while realizing it was pivotal, I did find the constant religious stuff dragged on, and I was quite happy not to read another battle scene by the time I got to the end.
I've seen plenty of documentaries and read many books where the so-called experts put forward their ideas of the wheres and whys that lead to the building of this extraordinary, enigmatic erection. While Cornwell hasn't really come up with any new ideas, he's just dramatically presented them in a realistic and believable way.
If Stonehenge wasn't created in this way, well ... until someone comes up with a better explanation, I'm sticking with this.

Bernard Cornwell, who created the very successful Sharpe series of novels about the Napoleonic Wars turns his attention to prehistory with "Stonehenge, 2000 B.C.". He has fitted a detailed picture of neolithic life into a plot full of love, mayhem, and intrigue. For good measure he tosses in an explanation of the mysteries surrounding the greatest construction project in prehistoric Britain.
It is the story of three half-brothers, sons of the chief of Ratharryn, who hate one another murderously, but whom fate entwines in an endeavor that lasts for the remainder of their lives. Lengar, the oldest, becomes chief by killing their father. He then sells Saban into slavery in Wales and takes his wife as a concubine. Crippled Carraban seeks sanctuary with Ratharryn's neighbor and rival Cathallo, where he becomes a sorcerer. They are reunited when Carraban convinces Lengar he must build a stone temple to the sun god and that Saban is the man to build it.
Cornwell does an excellent job of describing the techniques archeologists believe were used to construct two successive stone temples at the site of Stonehenge, but he compresses the work into a single generation. I think this was a mistake -- apart from its dubious factual foundation -- because it diminishes our awe at the ingenuity of conception and difficulty of execution. Part of the grandeur of Chartres Cathedral is that its construction was measured in generations not in years. Having Saban accomplish a miracle of neolithic engineering -- not once but twice -- truncates the magnificence of the achievement. Cornell glosses over the impossible economic demands that such rapid construction would make on a subsistence neolithic society.
Spreading the events over multiple novels would have been consistent with Cornwell's previous work, but would have required whole generations of new characters. That might not have been a bad thing. Saban is not as interesting as his vicious half-brothers -- or his two wives for that matter! (In the movie version, I see Kevin Costner as Saban, John Malkovitch as Lengar, and Gary Oldman as Carraban) Cornwell, who is so facile at plotting, perhaps is stingy at creating central characters. After all he used Richard Sharpe and Arthur Wellesley through sixteen novels.

This is the story of the construction of Stonehenge itself, as Bernard Cornwell imagines it. It centers on a family of a father and three boys. The father is wise and just, and of course wishes to live with his neighbors in peace, but events have a way of going in different directions. Eventually the father passes from the story, and his three sons struggle for power among themselves, and compete with their neighbors for it too.
The three sons might be referred to as the killer, the builder, and the priest, though all three characters do their fair share of killing. The aforementioned killer is evil, and wishes to build the temple at Stonehenge (the name is never used in the story) in order to call on the gods to make him powerful, so he can conquer his neighbors. The priest is something of a lunatic, born crippled, who rants, has visions, and drives everyone else with a relentless dream of finishing the temple in a particular fashion at a particular time. The builder is the story's protagonist, a simple man who wants only to be left alone with his family, in peace.
The book has several problems, not the least of which is the aforementioned frame of the story. It struck me as a version of several plots from Shakespeare and other classic literature, dressed up with ancient warrior tattoos and these rocks they push around. Many people have commented about the length of the story, though I don't think that's entirely fair: the book weighs in at 434 pages, of which the last few are an afterword. The problem isn't length, exactly, it's that the plot takes a long while to get anywhere. Even more annoying than that is the issue of religion. The priests apparently decide that they want something, and then tell the people that the gods have decreed it. This makes for many irritating characters and events, and you never really get away from them.
While I enjoyed this book, I think (know) that I have and will enjoy Mr. Cornwell's Sharpe series a great deal more.

I suppose I should title this "an interesting look at ancient PRE-history", because nobody really knows what went on back then. This book isn't perfect, but I really enjoyed it. I haven't read any other of Cornwell's works, but apparently other reviewers felt this wasn't his best effort. I liked it though.

Going back to an ancient period and accurately recreating the life of people in that period is a daunting task. Cornwell makes sure we know that life was very difficult. Death and fear was a daily experience. Women were objects, not people. Compassion was scarce. Again, we don't really know what life was like for the people that built this great monument, but we can guess based on evidence and records from other places during the same era, and my feeling is that Cornwell's depiction is quite accurate.

This is an epoch tale, relating the story of one man's life from beginning to end, so it covers a lot of territory. It was disappointing at times to get to know and like a new character, only to have them killed, tortured or otherwise taken out of the picture. But isn't that what really happens in life (minus the torturing part)? You get to know people in your life, then your or their life changes and you loose contact. So while it was frustrating to read, it's also true. However, I got kind of jaded after a while; when a new character was introduced, I decided to avoid developing an attraction to her/him, to avoid disappointment later.

There are some slow parts in the book, and in the end, it appears that the main character is developing compassion and love that seems out of place with the mood of the rest of the characters. But again, I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

Despite the grim feeling, violence and fear in the novel, I would still recommend this for young teens as well as adults. While scenes of intimacy are referenced, they're not dwelt on, so there is little inappropriate material for younger readers.

Over 20 years ago I fulfilled a long-time dream by standing before the giant and ancient monument known as Stonehenge. Like everyone else who stood there, I marveled at the minds and determination of the men and women who must have struggled against the elements as they overcame the limitations of their ancient times to build this structure. Like anyone else, I wondered how they were able to do it and why they took on this task.
"Stonehenge" is a novel and does not pretend to be fact. In his historical notes, Cornwell makes it clear that no one really knows who or why it was built, and there are only clues as to how. He points out that future scientists may very well look at our cathedrals and draw conclusions about our own culture and beliefs that are as likely to be wrong as right. However, that is not important here.
Cornwell has constructed a tight and fascinating story that tells maybe why and maybe how Stonehenge came to be. The story centers on three half-brothers, two of them doomed to death at the hands of their siblings, the women who loved and hated them, warriors, priests, and a pantheon of gods and goddesses, not physically part of the story, but whose presence, real or imagined, drives the characters on. I cannot think of one character that wasn't well drawn or who acted against their nature in this story. Even though so many of the events in the story deal with the reaction to the mythology (a term meaning someone else's religion) of the characters, I never once felt that their actions or beliefs were too farfetched. They were each people of their times, not modernized versions of ancient people.
Stonehenge is exceptional. Anyone who likes historical fiction, especially as it deals with the ancient world, will love it. Also, anyone who likes action packed adventure stories, tales of heroes, tales that delve into the behavior of characters, or just want to pass the time on the plane, train, or bus, should move this to the top of their must read list.

Living close to Stonehenge, having witnessed these stones in all weather conditions, and having played both on and around them as a small boy - before they were fenced off, I eagerly bought this books soon as it appeared. I have felt their magic beneath my fingers...and it is infectious! For a story that actually goes back ten thousand years into the mists of pre-history (6,000 years before the current stones were emplaced), I found Bernard Cornwall's story a fascinating eye-opener on what 'might' have happened during their construction. I say 'might' because no one really knows. But we all have our own ideas 'might' have been. Bernard Cornwall has written a moving story from his imagination regarding the efforts of physical construction, creating a mythic pantheon of Gods and Goddeses, and accurately describing an ancient spirit of place. Without breaking down the story, I believe that it is important to note that Cornwall's love of ancient Briton (no doubt, boosted by his research in the same region of south west England for the Warloard Chronicles),is cleary felt throughout this passionate novel. Anyone who has passed through the Wiltshire/Dorset region will know that the land really does feel old and mysterious. My only criticism was the lack of explanatin of ley-lines, that also date from the same period. Furthermore, I think the historical notes should have been placed at the beginning of the novel to allow the reader to match fictional placenames with the actual villages and towns that stand today. I would suggest to any new reader to read these notes first. All in all, however, Stonehenge is a wonderfully desciptive glimpse at an age when mankind first took note of the heavans above, and started into motion our continuing celebration of the wonderful circle of life.

Stonehenge in Britain is not on the awesome scale of the pyramids of Egypt and doesn't exhibit the incredible 'caveman' art that has been discovered in France -- but it is, like them, a surviving testimony that human beings have always been the same throughout the history of the species, whatever their culture, religion, or technological level. There is no historical documentation about the builders of Stonehenge (except that it was not built by Druids, who ARE documented). An author
with imagination, and doing careful research about what can be deduced from scientific investigation -- and, please, no help from aliens from outer space as an explanation -- is free to come up with any fictional plot to explain it.
Cornwell has come up with a good version (Harrison and Stoner had another one a few years ago, different but just as valid, involving the Mycenean/Phoenician influence). Since Stonehenge was built/rebuilt/remodeled several times over a period of a couple of thousand years, starting six thousand or more ago counting back from our time, Cornwell's theory that the major remains were built by a single architect doesn't wash (but neither does the Arthurian Merlin theory that he transferred the whole thing by magic from Ireland). Well, who cares really? Take your pick, even bring in flying saucers if you can pull it off and say the whole complex was designed as a giant computer.
This is a very fine book, but only if you are interested in the subject. If you have no tolerance for stone-age construction techniques, blood, gore, war, and squalor, and/or a romanticized plot with all that great stuff about evil sorcerors, thwarted lovers, treacherous politicians (yes, even in those times) -- then don't bother and stick with archeological reports about post-holes and pottery fragments, provided you have any interest in Stonehenge at all.
Cornwell does a nifty job inventing a whole religious conflict between
sun and moon worshippers and positing an entire warlike culture we really have no idea about except by deduction, Margaret-Meade-type studies about 'primitives', our own idealization of tribal American Indian wars and New Guinean cannibal cultures, and the carbon-dating of antlers used as shovels. The main characters are good, too, along the lines of a King Lear plot (except they are sons: noble hero, braggard cruel warlord, and evil crippled sorcerer).

I have heard Bernard Cornwell talk about this book. One of the smaller points he made was his preference for a novel to be told within the lifetime of one of the characters. It is precisely this preference that is one of the reasons that "Stonehenge" fails.
The building itself we all know to be fantastic. The fact that it was built at all is incredible given the period of Stone Age man. So it is surely pushing things too far to suggest that the people that built Stonehenge did so quickly, and not only that but built two henges on the same site as history tells us as quickly as the author suggests?
Coupled with this we are faced with a theme that is far more epic than Mr. Corwell's 500 or so pages have portrayed. Another problem that the author has tried to overcome is that for all its majesty and folklore heritage, Stonehenge is simply a building. To write a novel about its construction is surely too much to ask of any writer. I feel as though a novel set against the backdrop of the construction would allow for a far more interesting novel than has been produced. The difficulty lies in all the technical babble that Cornwell employs to explain the ins and outs of how Stone Age man managed to erect the huge stones. We get bogged down in those details which are quite often rather confusing.
The story that is written around the building is also a bit disjointed. Saban's time in Sarmennyn I thought never wholly convincing. Nor did I think that all the treachery, death and magic flowed very well. It could be that if more time was spent by the author exploring these themes rather than the construction, we might well have had a more rounded and enjoyable read.
It is very unfortunate also, that "Stonehenge" came hot on the heels of the magnificent "Arthur" series. It would seem that because the cast of "Stonehenge" is earlier in time than that of "Arthur", the author has made a definite decision to make them more savage and violent. There may be some sense in the theory of that sentiment, but it sits a little ill when the plot is weakened by an unending stream of deaths that leave the cast constantly changing and seldom settled. If we did not have this pervading sense, more characters would have lasted longer and we could have had a more rounded cast. Perversely, the opposite is true of those characters that do go the distance. I found myself constantly thinking, "they should have died by now." and other such thoughts.
There was a story to be written about "Stonehenge", but I feel that Mr. Cornwell's effort was flawed on too many fronts for this to be called a success. Bernard Cornwell can be brilliant, and I sincerely hope that his new trilogy on the 100 Years War is a successful return to the heights of the "Arthur" novels.

If I see the name Bernard Cornwell on a book, I buy it. I knowthat I'm going to be given an excellent read, and that, for a few hours, I will be transported to a world in which extraordinary people do extraordinary things with courage, brio, style, and, all too often, magnificent savagery.
I've been disappointed a couple of times. The Starbuck stories left me a little cold - but even they give good battle.
So, it was with curiousity that I cracked "Stonehenge" open. A shade under five hours later, I closed the book, sighed deeply and happily, and decided to re-read it tomorrow.
[...] Cornwell describes a time when life was hard, brutal, and all too often short. It wasn't life that was cheap: it was death. Cornwell brings these days - or the version of those days that his fertile imagination sees - to vivid, smelly, rough life. The air reeked as much from magic, religion, and superstition (the same thing, usually) as it did from the character's own odour. Magic was real to the people of Ratharryn - and because it was real, it worked. If a priest made a foaming-mouthed prohecy, it came true. The priest made sure of it. The societies are well-drawn, life in the hamelts and villages is extraordinarily well-described, the skirmishes and skull-cracking scraps are wincingly real.
Ultimately, though, this is the story of the people who built Stonehenge, why, and how. Cornwell's descriptions of the "how" are startling in their clarity. As a reader I could see and understand the construction methods, and believe that, given the appropriate amount of muscle-power, I could build another Henge.
The "why" must, of course, be pure speculation - and, like the magic, it becomes real because the writer and the reader wish it so.
And as for the "who"? Well, as ever, Bernard Cornwell excels in his characters. You'll not only like, love, or hate the various people who inhabit these pages so well, you'll come to understand them.
Collaborate with Cornwell as you read this book and you'll be taken on a journey of light and darkness, a journey which will stay with you far longer than that holiday you took as a youngster to Yellowstone, Blackpool, or Ayer's Rock.
To Bernard Cornwell I offer, once again, my deep and sincere thanks for a book marvellously entertaining. To you, dear reader - I say buy the book. read it once, then read it once again.[...]

"Stonehenge" by Bernard Cornwell, is a different kind of novel. He writes here about man and how he evolves, how to train to be a hunter and a warrior or to train to be a priest or a priestess. It is the story of brothers, and it is the brother who only desires peace, named Saban, who becomes for his tribe and for all mankind the chief builder of the temple that is called Stonehenge. He builds it for his brother who is different, his brother is a sorcerer, who has many follows, and yet it is his brother Saban who has many followers, and does not want to see bloodshed at the newly created Stonehenge temple. It is a novel that is well written for its time period. It is a novel that could only have been done by Bernard Cornwell who does beautiful details to the time period, and the devotion of the family to finish the temple as a place of worship for both the gods of the sun and the gods and their sacrifices are great to accomplish the task. If this were a series, I would buy the second book. Its a novel that cannot be put down once it is started, and its a novel that will leave you with the feeling of commitment to the temple that you feel when you see the stones, and realize that they had to have been brought to England from another area. Its the story of the women in the lives of the two brothers, and after it is done, its the story of the sacrifice that Saban makes to his brother in order to complete the temple. It is a book to be read again like all of Bernard Cornwell books, its one to be read again so you can pay attention to the exquisite details that he makes of the religion, and the manhood rituals, and the way that man survives in this book in order to finish the temple. Its a must read for those who have read Cornwell's other books.

Cornwell up front says that this is a work of fiction, that no one really knows what happened in the building of Stonehenge. Then he proceeds to construct a very believable story of stone aged Britain, and the trials and tribulations, the wars and feuds, that might have accompanied such a construction as the monolithic structure that still captivates our imaginations. A tale of brother of a deposed chief, one a cripple who becomes a great sorcerer, the other a warrior and builder. It is a time of traveling traders and magicians who use psychology to control the hearts and minds of the people, of Gods that demand human sacrifice and people who willingly go to their deaths. This is another masterful tale by one of my favorite authors.

...but I wasn't able to get far in this book. I came to it with high expectations, for I've enjoyed Mr. Cornwell's hard-bitten sailing adventures and his Richard Sharpe series, and thought he might make a go of it with Stonehenge. I am intrigued why and how Megalithic monuments were built, and archaeology can only provide nameless clues. However, after a few chapters I could no longer take the primitive dialogue and unlikable characters.
After reading a number of other equally unsatisfying pre-historical novels, I think the problem may not be mine, but is the general difficulty, for any author no matter how skilled, of writing a good story out of whole cloth, with no written, personalized, historical framework. After all, we can assign not a single person's name to Stonehenge; there are no chronicles from this pre-literate time. Thus there's nothing to force a real structure into a narrative, to present known conflicts of interest. We have no set of expectations for an author to work against, or surprise us by. This situation is quite different from writing truly historical novels set in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, or, potentially, China (see the Judge Dee series) and now the Maya. Instead, for a Neolithic or Paleolithic story, an author has to be fabulously creative, constructing a whole intricate world of social and economic relations as well as engrossing characters, from almost sheer imagination. Maybe it will take someone with talents in creating science fiction or fantasy worlds to do it right, or perhaps a collaboration. (Or I may, unfortunately, simply not know who has done it already?) I still have this book, in hopes I gave up too early and I'll give it another go someday.

- Let's build a temple for X.
- No, let's build a temple for Y.
- Why?
- Because!
- Where?
- Here.
- No wait. Here!
- But we already built it!
- Then move it!
- But!
- No buts! It will change the world forever.
- Moving rocks will change the world?
- Yes! I've dreamt it.
- Oh, if you dreamt it I don't mind using 5 years to do it. Because dreams, they are always true.

I wanted to like this novel, I really did. I loved the Warlord Chronicles, but this is just dull. Somebody builds a temple. Somebody else builds an even bigger temple. Then someone moves a whole temple across the country. Then he decides that it doesnt work and builds yet another temple.

Boring!

Mr. Cornwell has crafted a frightening, interesting, and compelling fictional world from scientific conjecture and the few existent facts about Stonehenge. In this world, death and brutality are constant and very real threats. The construction of such an incredible monument under these conditions is awe-inspiring. In this novel, the architects of Stonehenge combine violence and religion to coerce various tribes into creating the magnificent stone artifact.

I found a great deal of resemblance between the characters in Stonehenge and the Puzo/Coppola Godfather movies. Hengall, the wily father of the tribe, is a pre-historic mirror of Don Vito Corleone. He generally seeks peace, but regularly resorts to violence to achieve his ends. Lengar is a calculating yet impulsive Sonny Corleone, while Camaban is a sort of insane Michael Corleone.

That leaves us with the main protagonist, Saban who unfortunately most closely resembles Fredo. Saban is always at the mercy of those around him. He is the last to know, the cuckold, the helpless. He has strong moral character and occasionally stands up to those around him, but spends most of the novel reacting and enduring rather than acting.

Luckily, Saban does not take away from the rest of the story. All of the other characters are so multi-dimensional and interesting, that the reader is swept up and swept forward to the exciting conclusion. Be sure you don't skip the author's "Historical Note" which describes the known facts that were used to construct the novel. It's stunning that the first stones were transported over 100 miles to the Stonehenge site.

I am quite familiar with Mr. Cornwell's work. From the Sharpes series to Saxon stories, I usually find his work intriguing and his characters brilliant and beautifully flawed. This is the exception.
I'm not saying that every protagonist in a work of historical fiction should be a warrior or a hero, but they should have at least some redeemable quality other than being obedient. Saban, the protagonist, is about as complex as a Labrador who wags his tail when his family comes home from holiday.
If you enjoy reading about cuckolded, cowardly, and weak men, then this is the book for you. I really had high hopes for this book, but after the first hundred or so pages, it ended up being Bob Villa's neolithic guide to stone masonry. Unsatisfying!

I did not give this book five stars because it did not deserve it, but it definitely within four and four and a half's range. I was surprised to see that it was three and a half in total. I suppose, after reading some of the reviews, that if people want to see a bloodbath this is not exactly the book for you. However, Cornwell definitely envelopes his reader in action and stimulating plot from the get-go with "the stranger" and Saban's (the protagonist) very initial rivalries with his eldest brother. The story is fascinating and surprising at many times, and if you didn't "want to read a story about rocks" then maybe a book entitled "Stonehenge" isn't exactly geared towards your holy demographic. The only problem that I have with this story is Saban's latter love interest, which, although is heartwarming for the main character to find what he's looking for, seems too unexpected and almost uncalled for given the plot's circumstances at that point. I'll let you read the rest. Not Cornwell's best, but the man can write and that is very apparent in this book as well as his greats.

The book starts off great. The first two hundred pages with its explanation of the tribe and the brothers who are the chiefs sons are truly engrossing. Unfortunately it tapers off from there. About the time you hit page 300 the book is basically over. the author however decides to babble for abouta hundred pages or so before he finally ties up some loose ends. Another disappointment is the protagonist, Saban, who starts out likeable enough but ends up being somewhat annoying and weak. His counterparts his wives, his war chief brother and his club footed brother are far more interesting characters.
While Cornwell's explanation of Stonehenges purpose is nothing out of the ordinary his description of its possible use is quite interesting. The best part about the book is the imaginary mythology that Cornwell has created for the tribe and their worship of sundry deity. For example, in the novel the tribe takes their dead (and there are many) to the death place where they allow the body to be consumed by vultures and other birds. Students of religion will recognize this as a Zorastrian custom, that began in Iran about 3000 BC.
All in all the book is not too bad but on the other hand it really isn't all that good either.

"Stonehenge" by Bernard Cornwell is a complete departure for the author of the Sharpe series. Frankly, I didn't like it very much. Maybe it was the pacing, which was slow or the character development, which was shallow. I never got the sense or feel of the times. Luckily for me I picked the book up at a bargain otherwise I would have felt cheated. I finished it only because Cornwell is one of my favorite authors.
Perhaps it is because I couldn't identify with the main characters. The lead characters are brothers, namely Saban, Camaban and Lengar. Saban the protagonist, is the perpetually young warrior, hero and builder. Saban's crippled brother Camaban, is the tribe's sorcerer, kook and priest. Saban's oldest brother Lengar, is the obligatory antagonist, villain and tribal chieftain. None of these characters are interesting, all of them seem merely to be props to tell the story. I can accept this type of fiction by some other authors, especially when used in short stories but here it seems shallow. I don't think Cornwell allowed the readers a chance to get into the heads of these people.
I think most people knew it took Britain's Neolithic inhabitants years and years to build Stonehenge. After all they barely seem to master fire, metal tools and planting crops. But I thought the story could have been much more interesting and exciting. Cornwell paints a picture of people who were brutal war-like savages. They applied blue tattoo scars to their bodies to signify the number of people they have killed. Ordinarily Cornwell is the perfect author for this type of job, all of his other works are great but he never carries it off.

For a writer having Stonehenge as a central theme could be a double-edged sword. The history of Stonehenge lies shrouded in mystery, some give it almost mystical powers and others simple suggest it was designed as a meeting place or the venue for ancient parties! Having such a vast blank page could provide an author with either a rich vein to use as a plot or it could lead to a novel containing undisciplined guesswork. Due to both his skills as a writer and the time he invests in research, Bernard Cornwell's Stonehenge belongs to the former category.
The plot and story line explores the motivational force behind the construction of the monument of Stonehenge. Not only is it strong in it's sense of history, Stonehenge offers a multi-layered approach to the development of characters and their lives. Cornwell's writing is here particularly strong and evocative. This book, although well researched is fiction and it's important to hold onto that fact. However, Cornwell writes with such conviction that at times one could believe that his account of the building of Stonehenge is factual in nature. My only criticisms were perhaps a tendency for Cornwell to over-elaborate and the passing of time-scales in one or two lines.
This book is does not have the feel of Sharpe or Starbuck and those readers who expect that style of writing will I feel be disappointed. Stonehenge builds the story line rather than plunges into it. Both forms are valid but with Stonehenge it would be unwise to expect a thrill a minute al la Richard Sharpe.
An enjoyable, well researched book with an engaging plot.

Cornwell uses the construction of Stonehenge to weave an intricate fictional work exploring the people, motivation and politics that drove bronze age people to undertake such monumental feats of engineering.
Because the story (as surely the construction) spans lifetimes, it can be slow at times but Cornwell is certainly expert in fashioning characters that you would believe to be true to the times. I particularly his depiction of the shamen as being man of intelligence and wisdom rather than mystical power who had the ability to manipulate the tribal mentality to their own ends.
The only criticism I would have is that descriptive sequences of the actual construction are particularly hard to follow - it is as if the author has a very clear vision of what he wishes to describe but fails to convey this image successfully. Because of this, the monumental effort involved is somewhat diluted which takes away from what is quite an interesting exploration of the forces driving the construction.
Whilst this is truly a work of fiction, it would certainly be interesting to hear what a bronze age historian felt about the tale. 4 stars if you are interested in Stonhenge and the bronze age - if you have no real interest in this area, I suspect you will find this extremely tough going.

Stonehenge [2000 B.C.] by Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell's particular literary talent lies in his marvelously rich imagination and ability to extrapolate relevant, intelligent, and highly entertaining stories from the merest and scantest of archeological and historical data. In this novel, he vividly imagines the people who built Stonehenge well before the time of Christ. His characters are always very realistic and well relatable to 21st Century readers. Whether writing of the sea in his Sharpe series or dealing with Arthurian material in his Warlord Chronicles, all with grand stage settings and unforgettable background events, the lives of ordinary people become as true and relevant as the latest breaking news. This present book deals with three brothers as different as brothers can be, but united in their vision of what the great temple we know as Stonehenge should be. Cornwell includes a lot of creative pagan mythology here and the influence of such scholars as Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung can readily be discerned. But don't be misled; this is still an action-packed page-turner as are all of Cornwell's books. Great for those exhausting dog days of August.

I have never read anything by Bernard Cornwell, and eagerly picked this up hoping for another _Pillars of the Earth_ or _Sarum_. Unfortunately, this book echoes those only in the broadest sense. Like those books, this features human drama set against great erections in England. Unlike those books, this one did not seem well-researched or relevant. Cornwell, by setting this book in prehistory, has the luxury of creating his own mythology. This leaves him free to do as little research as possible while still writing what seems to hope to be a weighty tome. The one feature that is unchanging--the topography--is only referenced in the endnote acknowledgements. I do not profess to know anything about Stonehenge, and thus felt disappointed by being unable to place the oft-mentioned landmarks in any type of context. The story of the brothers is interesting at points and tiresome at others. All in all, I left this book disappointed.

Stonehenge is the story of Saban a bronze age warrior from a small village who becomes the unwitting pawn of his older mad brother and his evil half-brother.

After the discovery of gold from a murdered outlander, the small village of Rothanan becomes the stage for a drama which spans several decades, eventually culminating in the erection of Stonehenge and some major changes for the villagers.

I really enjoyed Stonehenge, although at times I wished the protagonist, Saban to grow a spine. He is constantly 'wounded' by those around him, starting with his own half-brother and ending with his wife. Saban must be goaded into responding to anything, and is constantly victimized by the wicked and cruel. Sometimes the actions and violence in this book seemed needless and lacked any significant purpose.

I enjoyed this novel for a brutal taste of bronze age Europe. But I would've enjoyed it more if I'd liked Saban, his wife and their kids a bit more.

This is basically a 300-page novel that has been elongated into 500 pages, and the end result is that it's mostly boring. Flat characters, repetitive descriptions and a wavering story line make it a chore to get through. Not Cornwell's best effort. If you can borrow this book from someone, do so. Just don't waste any money on it.

Bernard Cornwall's task in creating this novel was to weave a plausible story line which explains how the monument at Stonehenge was created. He not only succeeds in doing this, but both his character development and plot skills excelled as he pursued that goal. For me, this book was one of those extremely enjoyable reads that I was sad to complete. His descriptions of the scenery and people made it very easy to imagine a scene in my mind. I would seriously like to see this novel made into a movie directed by, say Coppola, David Twohy or Ridley Scott. Although fiction, it's a rich tapestry of Euro-American heritage. Highly recommended.

To a younger generation of readers familiar with the film "This Is Spinal Tap," "Stonehenge" evokes musical images of ridiculous popular references to the timeless memorial. This is not such a light hearted book however and typical Cornwell it's filled with the gore and realistic hardship of ancient days.

It describes how the stone temple might have come about, in Neolithic times, with an interesting plot about three brothers and their twisted fates weaving with the setting and context of tribal plots, feuds, and intrigues of Neolithic Britain.

The book exhibits not quite as strong of character development as Cronwell's Arthur series; yet in spite of that this book shows far more interesting and gripping characterization of the female heroines. Accordingly, women may find this a more congenial read than his Arthur books.

I recommend it.

I bought this book after reading a copy from the library. Its a great addition to any book collection.
The story is set during the bronze age, such an archaic and mysterious time. The story is centered around the construction of stonehenge, and though no one knows why it was created, the author puts forward a great fictional explination.
The story is fascinating, as with all of Bernard Cornwells books you get a great deal of knowledge from each chapter and you get a real sense of what life is like for the characters portrayed in the book.
The late Stone Age - Early bronze age is a time not much is known about. From a few archeological discoveries historians have pieced together a rough idea of how life was for those early humans and Bernard Cornwell takes that one step further in this great book, Stonehenge.

I'm a big fan of Bernard Cornwell's series - Enemy of God and Uthred - so naturally I picked up Stonehenge. It took me two passes to really get into this narrative, and while overall I enjoyed it, I would say it isn't one of the strongest books he's written. The paperback has several typos but really the problem I have with the story is that one of the main conflicts ends about 200 pages before the book. The book loses steam as the construction of Stonehenge trudges along with few characters left to enjoy. The most fascinating chapter, unfortunately, would be the historical notes section. I'm still a fan, just saying you may want to skip this book, and re-read the Last Kingdom instead.

Having read several of Mr. Cornwell's novels, and knowing what an excellent writer he is, I was particularly looking forward to this one. A period of history I like, a place I have visited which is always a plus to conjure up the atmosphere, but I must admit I was slightly disappointed and I'm not sure why.

The book traces the birth of what we now know as stonehenge, from being a few sticks in the ground through to the time when it was in all its glory. The logistics of moving the stones and placing them in their correct positions is all there woven around a story of the people involved, but for me it just was not quite right. Sorry Mr. Cornwell.

There is almost no information on the makers of Stonehenge, but it seemed that this story was very limited in the subject matter it covered. Move the rocks. Kill a lot of people. Repeat. Move the rocks...

I will, however, further explain that Cornwell is a favorite author of mine and the standard I set for him is quite high. Given the staggering amount of books under his name, it may be that this was done by his staff, and lacked the master's touch.

Having read several of the Sharpe series, I'm familiar with Cornwell's style and yes, formula. When Cornwell sticks to his formula; the slightly clueless protagonist, treachery, intrigue, action and attention to historical (or pre-historical) detail, the pages fly. When he dwells on the construction of the temple(s), things slow down, albeit remaining interesting. Still, the juxtapositions give the narrative some incongruity.

Largely because of the ambitious scope of the novel, I was hoping to find something more redeeming than Cornwell's usual superficially entertaining read. Though Camaban freely admits his sorcery is nothing more than hype, intimidation and competent medical practices, he is still obsessed with the gods and his attempts to force them to his will. Saban, while not daring to blaspheme, relies more on his wits and common sense than on his society's superstition; qualities that at times make him look less than corageous but allow him to survive and eventually prevail. This disparity between the two brothers leaves plenty of room for speculation on what Cornwell may, or may not be trying to say about human nature, religion and civilization's present state.

'Stonehenge' will not be remembered as Cornwell's Magnum Opus. As it is, we're simply left with another quality outing from one of historical fiction's best.

Terrific story with logical and exciting possibilities for the real story lost to time. Places the reader securely in the setting to experience ideas, emotions and actions connected to such an evocative mystery. Very precise telling of a specific event mixing thought process of prehistoric man with timeless human characteristics we can observe and relate to now.

This book tells the imaginary story of the creation of the famous british monument around 3000 B.C. It follows the lives of 3 brother, Saban, Lengar and Camabin. All three have various problems.
Saban is a coward and both Camabin and Lengar(to varying degrees) are nuts. The story goes very well untill half way through the book. Then it seems to suffer from Steven King syndrom and rush the rest of the way through, so in the end what you get is a really lackluster book. However that does not take away from the good battles you can always count on Cornwell to give you.

Once again, Cornwell has brought a little-known, little-understood era of British history to life. He has imagined a world completely alien from ours, and describes it in haunting detail. The story is great, but occasionally bogs down in engineering details. It is a bit harder to follow than his other works, probably because it is so hard to imagine life in the Bronze Age, where gods and spirits were literally in the air, water, and all around. Life was cheap, and Cornwell makes 5th century Britain seem like Club Med compared to the Bronze Age. Historically accurate, great story, well-written.

Cornwell is in danger of rising above his own reputation as an author of historical romances. This latest work is as violent (or more so) as any Cornwellian saga, but it features no swashbuckling heros like Richard Sharpe or Derfel.
The story is an imaginative reconstruction of the raising of the great temple to the sun on Salisbury Plain. It's heros are the woodcutters, stone masons, and traders who build the temple and endear themselves to us by their scepticism about the good sense of their leaders. The villains of the story are the inspired visionaries, politicians and religious ecstatics who conceive the temple and turn it into a curse on the people who build it.
The theme of the work is religion, and it almost might be an anti-religious work but for the fact that, for the sake of plot device, Cornwell can't resist fulfilling every prophecy that falls off the lips of every villainous witchdoctor in his tale.
The temple is a machine built by men to manipulate the gods; the plot is a machine built by Cornwell to keep his readers happy. In this story both work, but only by a willing suspension of disbelief.
And what is it that makes Cornwell's readers abandon their scepticism?
Cornwell's characters.
The characters in this story are recognizable and Cornwell's exposition of them keeps us going, page after page. His saints metamorpose into villains and vice versa, and the changes in these people, unlike the plot, are believable. The people are real, and Cornwell's ahistorical meditation on human nature in this book confirms for us that his talent can become a great one.

Bernard Cornwell has a truly incredible talent for creating vivid and interesting characters, and Stonehenge is no exception. Here, Cornwell tackles one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world: who built Stonehenge, how, and why?
Cornwell's neolithic world is very well-researched, and it is easy to imagine one's self transported there, in all of its brutal glory. Saban, the main character, acts like an intelligent human being, and it is easy to care about him. As a result, several scenes of the book are very difficult to read; make no mistake, much of the action in Stonehenge is brutal and gut-wrenching, and Saban is forced to lead a harder life than he had ever dreamed.
Along the way, he must deal with a variety of interesting people. Lengar, his brother, is a wicked tyrant, whose ambitions for greatness makes him dangerous and unpredictable. Camaban, a crippled chieftan's son cast away and expected to die, becomes a sorceror of great renown.
All of this frames the building of the great monument, and how it changes as the ambitions and understandings of its builders change. Like all great drama, the story starts small and builds, twisting and turning unpredictably, and enthralling the reader as the ancient world is revealed. In the end, Cornwell has managed a remarkable achievement, not only telling a great story, but bringing to life an ancient and forgotten people.

I'm a late start to Bernard Cornwell, and before I picked up this book, I had only read his Holy Grail series. While I enjoyed the seiries immensely, sometimes I had to push myself through particularly tiresome passages.
"Stonehenge" was no different. There is a ridiculous amount of detail sometimes about trivial actions, such as the polishing and shaping of the stones. While necessary to describe the action, I think once is enough. Five times is four times too many to have to read about the shaping of a giant stone.
However, the story line was excellent. It was not overwhelmingly predictable, and I came to love and care about the character of Saban. He was portrayed as a normal human man with normal human failings. I was afraid that Cornwell would portray Saban as a sterotypical barbarian, but happily, while including some heathen-ish behavior, he refrained from writing a story about Ogg the cave boy or some other ridiculous rubish.
His research was impressive. When reading the historical note at the end, it was obvious that he took much care in including as many factual details as possible. To truly appreciate the book, you absolutely can not skip the historical note section; the detail is astounding.
Despite his tendancy to describe things to the point that the reader is within an inch of his or her sanity, Bernard Cornwell does spin a good yarn, weaving facts and fiction togethor quite nicely, and so I must recommend "Stonehenge" to all self-respecting lovers of historical fiction.

Bernard Cornwell is a master of the historical novel, regardless of the era he tells of. "Stonehenge," not unsurprisngly, refers to the building of Stonehence, circa 2000 B.C.

The story is a wonderful blend of archaeology and invention. Mostly invention, but wonderfully done.

Cornwell invents a tribal society and believable customs to go with it. He molds some interesting characters as well. Stonehenge is a marvelous blend of a speechless monument and the story it might have told if it could.

Cornwell's "Stonehenge" is an exquisite read for history buffs and anyone who enjoys a good story, well told.

Jerry

Bernard Cornwell's Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC is an amazing book which captured my interests more than half a decade ago. I had borrowed the book from the local library, one of those Books on Wheels kind of things. That weekend I'd gone camping with my grandmother, the same campground I'd spent a lot of my youth at. I devoured the text with a ferocity that only a youth can recreate, and ever since- I've loved it. The enmity between Lengar and Saban that is present from the start, the love between the cripple, Camaban, and Galeth. It's a good read from the start. I first read this book at the age of thirteen, or fourteen, and I've never had a time where I did not enjoy re-reading this book. Also, for historical fiction lovers- This book presents a very interesting point of view for the building of Stonehenge. I'm actually visiting the monument within the next six months or so, and I can't wait to just see the way my mind molds this story into a reality, at least for myself.

Good start and many good elements like some of the characters and sidebars... but the story lost me. Too much detail on building for me. A little would have gone a long ways. If I was really into Stonehenge theories or primitive cultures I'm sure I would have enjoyed the book more. Also the main character - likeable, yet disappointing, submissive to the end.

I suppose anyone writing fiction has to just let some things go by, and not be too offputting. Suspend your disbelief, and all. But what bothered me more than anything in getting a feeling of believability is that the construction seemed to be the work of one man's mind, and him an outcast who would hardly be privy to the engineering and celestial knowledge necessary to pull off such a task. I mean, Stonehenge was probably the result of generations of accumulated knowledge passed down through a priestlike group of stoneage scholars. Not the way it is presented here. The other thing, as someone mentioned, is that every prediction made by the holy characters of the book comes true. Are we supposed to believe that they actually had magical powers in those days? This happened too many times to be a coincidence. Having said that, it was a pretty interesting story.

I think I read this book in one sitting. This book is delightfully entertaining and very detailed. It is obvious that Cornwell did his homework and researched this topic rather extensively before writing anything. It is true that he has taken some liberties in adding his own opinions, but so do most historians. The plot is captivating and Cornwell's use of words and description make the story come alive in a way that most other stories do not. There were certain points in the story where I actually could feel the pain of the characters - it was scary... not many stories have that effect on me. I highly reccommend this book to anyone who enjoys an intellectually stimulating and exciting book.

I have finally hauled my way through to the end of Stonehenge. There were a number of times when I was close to not bothering, but I had hoped that in the end something interesting or significant would happen to make it worth while. It didn't.
The problem with many of Bernard Cornwell's novels is the lack of depth of the characters, and this is even more noticeable here. It doesn't matter so much in books like the Sharpe series, as the recounting of historical events is fascinating. The "Sharpe" charaters have familiar sounding names and we know the world they inhabit. The problem with Stonehenge however is that the environment and culture are so foreign that it is impossible to relate to them.
In a novel like this therefore, it is imperative that the characters are interesting, well developed, and important to the story. This is not the case with Stonehenge. By the end of the book we feel like we know no more about the main characters than we did at the beginning. Traumatic events (such as the death and rape of friends and relatives) happen to most of the characters, but they are recounted with all the emotion of a shopping list.
Stonehenge may be an excellent work of historical fiction in the way it explains the construction of the stone circle and the philosophy behind it, but that could have been achieved in 100 pages. The rest of the book is devoted to the lives of characters with so little emotional depth that it is very difficult to care what happens to them.

Many of my fellow reviewers seem to revile the main protagonist of this book for not being a true "hero". Perhaps this is due to the "manly" nature of other of Bernard Cornwell's protagonists of whom they are fans. Of that, I cannot judge, since this was the first Cornwell novel I have read. I do feel, however, that readers should bare in mind that Cornwell ensures that we know that while Saban is not your standard "butch" hero, it is through his efforts (both physical and mental) and through his diplomatic approach to the largely slave workforce labouring on the project, that the monument gets built at all.

For me, therefore, Saban is a precursor of "new age man". He is far more considerate to those around him, he is a respecter of women, a hater of cruelty and barbarism. Surely those are truly heroic characteristics which mark Saban out from the mere fanatical power seekers around him. Yes, he may be seen as a passive victim in some of the early scenes, but in making him such a victim, yet in ensuring that when he is forced to kill his antagonists he is not driven by mere revenge, Cornwell seems to be ennobling him above his ruthless brothers. In our modern world of terrorist martyrs, I think we need more heroes like Saban, willing to live for their ideals, rather than kill or die for them.

I don't know how I did it but I made to almost the first half. After that I really couldn't s*t*a*n*d the thought of one more page of the utter UTTER nonsense.

Usually I have no problem with reading nonsense but it really has to have some entertainment value. And this book does NOT have a shred of entertainment value. It goes from one boring conversation to another boring description of how a temple is build (pages and pages of how one stone is put on top of another stone) to brutal murders, not to mention the cast of hundreds (if not thousands) of personages with unpronounceable names. What a total waste of effort and more so the paper it was printed on.

If you really want to spend some $$$, give it to a local animal shelter or dog rescue. That would be 1000 X better spend.

I picked up this book because I've always been interested in the topic Stonehenge is on. So when I saw this book, I thought that it had everything going for it. Bernard Cornwell is, after all, one of the best historical fiction authors out there. The story, the writing, or the subject didn't disappoint me, but some other aspects that definitely took away from it. I'll address those later one.

Stonehenge tells the story of three brothers, Saban, Camaban, and Lengar. Our hero is Saban, and we follow him throughout his life as he is raised in his father's clan. Unfortunately, his brother Lengar is a power-hungry pig and kills his father to be ruler of the clan. Lengar's quest for power causes him to go to war with another tribe, while on the side the third brother, Camaban, is trying to convince Lengar to do otherwise. He thinks they should make piece by creating a temple to the gods. Thus they begin building Stonehenge. During all of this, Saban is trying to survive, and eventually settle down with a family. But he is having trouble with that, because he is in love with a woman from the tribe they are fighting.

First of all, I'd like to say that Cornwell is an amazing author. His style is modern, and put to an ancient setting gives the book an interesting feel. I liked the way the facts and the researched information fit in with the engaging plot. The book may get a little bogged down with the details, but overall, I wasn't bored. There was enough action to keep the book moving me engaged.

As to what went on in the book itself, Saban is always trying to do the right thing for others and him. He is self-sacrificing, and makes friends easily. That's not to say he doesn't have his faults, because he does have a bunch, as well as the book.

This brings me to the book's major problem. There are heavy sexual themes. There isn't anything drastically explicit, but there are some very suggestive scenes. Scattered throughout the whole books, little things (and big things) pop up. I won't go into detail. Many aspects are simply part of the culture of that time and place, but I think Cornwell could have toned it down significantly, at least, or removed it completely. This kicked the book down quite a few steps.

Moving on.

Bernard Cornwell is known for being violent and gruesome, and he lives up to it here. As I said earlier, there are some human sacrifices. Cornwell doesn't stop at merely say what happened, he goes into detail. We imagine the axes coming down on not only adults, but also young children. People are also burned, cut up, bludgeoned, and spiked in the name of the gods.

The violence and gore is not limited to sacrifices either. Other happenings include, but are not restricted to, brutal battles with spears and arrows and swords and knifes, and sticks and stones, all doing their bloody work on the enemy, sequences of murder, child killing (outside of sacrifices), painful things like characters cutting themselves, and the list can go on... and on.

I personally don't have a big problem with some violence, but when an author describes human sacrifices (with children being sacrificed as well) in graphic detail, I'd say he's gone too far. Another example, at one point a priestess cuts up her own child and uses the bones as decoration on what clothes she wears.

To tell the truth, if Bernard Cornwell had cut out the sexual content and toned down the violence significantly, I would highly recommend this book. The only other negative elements that I can think of are that the book may be a bit too long. It drags just slightly in places. Though it's not enough to make me put it down, he could have picked up the pace. Another thing is that he spends a lot of time detailing how Stonehenge was built, and at times didn't focus enough on the main character.

Other than what I have mentioned, Stonehenge, as literature is a pretty solid read.

Bernard has brought us, yet again, another well-researched, incredibly detailed, brilliant novel of a time we really don't know much about. He brings life to the times and to the characters, making us want the hero to succeed, and making us want to keep reading to find out what happens despite the fact that it may drag slightly in places.

Unfortunately, he throws in an unhealthy dose of sexual content and inappropriate violence, making this book unworthy of my bookshelf. Was it worth the read? No, not really. With a lot of editing, this novel would work very well, but it falls short not because of poor writing and inaccuracies, but because of a few aspects that could easily have been avoided.

I recommend you stay away from Stonehenge. There must be another book out there on the subject.

Readers who enjoyed Cornwell's Arthurian trilogy will also enjoy 'Stonehenge'. They're very similar in tone, both perhaps a little wordy at times, but in the end I feel better for the experience.
I enjoyed this book immensely. It's a good piece of historical fiction, more fiction than historical.

Great for folks who wonder HOW Stonehenge was build. Not so good on the WHY of it all.

I listened to this book on tape. It took me a long time to get through it. My overall impression of the book is that it was OK, but definitely in the "borrow it from the library" category, NOT the "go out and buy it NOW" category.
The sense of place and time was strong & to my ear, realistic. But I found the details involved in the building of Stonehenge became tedious and overwhelming (though this could be more pronounced in the audio version- you could skim over the slow bits in print, harder to do in audio)
I liked the day to day details of the characters lives but struggled with Cornwell's version of the characters religion/motivation: he vacillates between treating it with respect & subtly mocking it from a modern perspective. (Spoiler alert coming up) The author's basic premise is that Stonehenge was built draw the lunar year into sync with the solar one. As a pagan & someone who has a passionate interest in European pre-history, that motivation seems patronizing and well, stupid. I could go on about this at length, but i'll leave it at that.
I found the characters in this book very two dimensional- lots of stereotypical good & bad guys. And don't get me started on his female characters- I've never seen them as a strong suit in any of the Cornwell books i've read.

Basic summary: a cool book for flavor, time & place and great for anyone who wonders "HOW did they build that". But the author's answer for WHY Stonehenge was build didn't work at all for this reader.

I absolutely love Mr. Cornwell's novels. Thomas of Hookton was an excellent character and I have found his adaptation of the King Arthur series incredible. However, I feel that Stonehenge is not as good as it could be. I had to literally trudge through the book. I expected something big or suprising to happen throughout the novel. The characters fell flat and the story was terrible. If you are a Cornwell fan, skip this one.

The view of Stonehenge rising among the rolling hills of the Salisbury plains in Southern England is a moving experience for anyone interested in our Ancient past. Most people come away wondering how ancient people could have possibly erected such a monument without using modern tools or machinery. The most fascinating part of the riddle is the motive and the identity of the peole who spent their lives at the task. The novel by Bernard Cornwell is a fascinating story of the people and motivation which may have created Stonehenge. The blend of fact and fiction gives the reader appreciation of what it may have been like to live in the era when the monument was created. The novel has been carefully researched to provide an accurate picture of the remains as they stand today with a plausible theory as to why it was constructed. The description of the way of life of the ancient people is as interesting as the story of Stonehenge itself. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is curious about the lives of our ancestors and one of the mysteries they have left for us to ponder.

I admire Cornwell for embarking on a project that must obviously have required a great deal of research and attention to architectural detail.

The plot moves along at a crisp pace, allowing the tension between the primary characters and their conflicting desires to quickly escalate. The characters are believable, though I thought the teeth-pulling (of one of the main characters toward the end) a little implausible. Lengar is not a very nice person.

The historical notes at the end were interesting. I wish more historical novelists would include them.

lousy reader for the audiobook! he read slow with breaks in his cadence that made me not pay attention, and made the book drag along. have listened to other of Cornwell's books that were very engaging. no sure if it's just the reader or also the writing.....

I adore Bernard Cornwell's writing, and I believe that this is his best novel yet. The story was extremely well researched. I could not put this book down, and after I read it, I wanted to go back and read it again for the first time. The characters were well developed, and his idea about the mystery of Stonehenge was very interesting. This book provides everything- action, suspence, mystery, romance- and all in a wonderful historical novel. I would recommend this book to anyone, even if they are not too interested in Stonehenge.

As always only a great writer like Cornwell can take small amounts of info and write an entire book. Well thought out great characters and an amazing story all from just a few pieces of truth and let alone no written text to help the story along.

I had read four of Cornwell's more recent books before picking up Stonehenge. It seems that he has improved greatly over time, because this earlier work is not up to the the level of his later efforts. The plot jerks along in fits and starts. The hero, Saban, has difficulty foreseeing what is obvious to any reader, and constantly gets into fixes that could easily have been avoided. Unless you are trying to complete your list of Cornwell books, avoid this and stick to his later works.

I really, really wanted to love this book. It's about the building of Stonehenge, and pagans in old England, so I thought it would be perfect for me. Unfortunately, it was one of the most boring books I ever read.

There is just nothing interesting about this book. Lots of people are evil, lots of people age really fast, and nothing is described well. I don't even have that much to say about it. I just thought it was incredibly boring and a tad gross. And why are the gold bars always being described as lozanges?!!

Two stars. I can't really recommend this to anyone.

I hate when a book gets so boring, stagnent and full of dead ends that I have to give up. This was one of those. I'm surprised that this author is so popular--was this just a bad egg or are the rest of his books like this? (As a guide: I've loved every Wilbur Smith and Ken Follett novel I've ever read.)

I bought this book at Stonehenge on a recent visit. I found the book unrelentingly depressing...you come to care for characters who live out unheroic, hard, sad lives. I can accept that some of the historical details are a good reconstruction, but find that the narrative needn't have taken the turns it does to convey the information.

I was very excited when this book came out because I was thoroughly enchanted by the Warlord Chronicles. Unfortunately this book was not on par with that trilogy. Cornwell doesn't do a necessarily bad job with this book, but the excitement level wans at times, and I found myself skipping through parts quite often. If you have time and money to waste and no better options in sight Stonehenge is enjoyable enough. Just don't go in with expectations for stories like the ones in the Warlord Chronicles.

Thoroughly enjoyed this fictional view of how/why/when/who Stonehenge was created. Slow at times, yet rich in detail and it almost reads like a true story (keep the fiction part in mind while reading it though). Tunred me on to Cornwell's literature- although this one is very different from the norm!

I have been reading the Warlord Chronicles and enjoyed them extremely. Stonehenge is as good as those books. Just read the first paragraph, re-read it and learn it by heart. You will get into the story from there. Just picture it while you read. This is a great book. Wonder what his new novel will be like.

A good book, but Bernard Cornwell failed to mention the first stones brought to Stonehenge in the Late Neolithic Period from the South Wales Coalfield area. Stonehenge's first hauled stones, of course, are the white Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period, Arundian Age, High Tor (Birnbeck) Limestone Formation calcium carbonates of its original counterscarp bank (3/4's later moved to Heelstone ditch and Stonehenge's nearest barrow 100 metres east-southeast of Heelstone). These first transported stones overlay Stonehenge's geologic outcrop of white Late Cretaceous Period, Santonian Age, Seaford Chalk Formation calcium carbonates. Other than Bernard Cornwell not mentioning these Stonehenge Whitestones, as they are commonly referred to by BGS (British Geological Survey) geologists, the book 'Stonehenge' is a good read.

As ususal Bernard Cornwell magically carries you back in time. While this story is obviously all fiction his ability to make the characters and possiblities real is a joy to experience. He supplies the reader with imaginative story line and believable scenarios. Althougth you know the end before you even open the book, the journey was enlightening and thought provoking. A great story that keeps you thinking even after the last page.

I have been a big fan of the Richard Sharpe series, and expected this book to have many of the qualities (without necessarily being formulaic). Stonehenge, however, never seemed to grab me. The characters were somewhat interesting, as was the premise, but the book seemed to be made up of very interesting bits with huge amounts of humdrum between them. By the end I was just reading it because I had already invested the time to read the rest, but I was just skimming.

Fortunetly, I still have many Sharpe books left to read!

I thought this book was fantastic. I listened to the audio version and it kept me captivated from the first minute I started listening (It was wonderfully read). I think anyone who finds fault with this book must have been hoping to do so from the onset. This book is a great read (or listen in my case). I think it is an ingenious fictional (yet probably fairly acurate from an antropology point of view) tale which describes the bringing about of the great wonder of Stonehenge.

Similar to Cornwell's Arthurian Saga (See Winter King) in plausible fiction, rich detail, and historical research, Stonehenge 2000 B.C. is a must read for any reader interested in Pre-English fiction. The relationships weaved together draw us into the reasons for building one of the most fascinating wonders of the world. Cornwell is not an easy read for everyone, but this book is well worth the effort.

i was drawn to cornwell's stonehenge because of his powerful work in the winter king, enemy of god and excalibur. stonehenge drags, has none of the superb characterization or exciting action of these other books. i found it slow and boring, a disappointment.

This work is not among Cornwell's strongest. I am not quite sure what he was trying to accomplish, but he explored the same issues and descriptions, relentlessly. While I expect that in a series, it just became tiresome. The plot was somewhat transparent and not to his usual mark. I would recommend that you reread any of the Sharpe novels before reading this book.

This work certainly does not show Cornwell at his best. The plot is thick and slow, and the book is really boring. Stick with Sharpe, Starbuck, or even Redcoat for much better works than this one. Avoid.

At least the first several chapters did, and from what I am reading from the other reviews, most people agree.

I didn't finish it. I just decided that I will not be continuing with this a few minutes ago. And given that many people here say that the most interesting part of it is the description of how they all moved the stones around, I do not think I am missing anything.

I get it. Time were tough 4,000 years ago. Disease. Violence. Death. Etc. But they didn't have novels or stories back then to read when you are trying to relax either, and therefore that life, when transcribed to fiction as literally as it is here, (we presume) just doesn't make for pleasurable reading. I want to read about people's turmoil, not feel as though I am right in the middle of it every time I sit down to listen to a chapter. There has to be some semblance of character for modern people to relate to. As I read it I realized the author was more worried about describing every zit, missing tooth, scar and crap stain on every person in the novel than he is getting us to care about any of them. A mean, cold, cruel world is established, and nothing about it is redeemable. Hence it is unreadable and boring.

Same goes with endless descriptions of hills, valleyes, tree lines, rocks, grass, etc. I detest authors who give such detail at the expense of everything else. All we get is a perfectly described ravine in our minds that proceeds to mean nothing.

And what was up with the nearly constant references to people's groins??? People grabbing their groins to appease the gods...priest rubbing religious relics all over his groin as part of a ceremony. Kids squeezing a man's groin hard in order to escape. An old sorceress grabbing an 11 year old's groin to try to scare him into submission. (The moment I pretty much decided I no longer wanted to continue with this book.)
And that was just up through chapter four! Every 5th page someone was doing something to somebody's groin!!! And who know how many times it showed up in the rest of the book. I understand having to create an anthropological trait amongst these fictionalized ancient people...but then to have half the violent acts in the book ALSO involve groin squeezes? Something isn't right about that.

Not to mention, I was listening to this on CD, and the narrator is AWFUL. The voices he uses for different characters are at times so nasal and high pitched (not to mention obnoxious to the point of nausea) that no matter how closely I listened, I couldn't understand what was being said. (I just assume they were saying, "I'm going to squeeze you're groin.")

I normally hate giving up on a book, but yes, it's over.